'Hannibal' debut chews up the record books

Published Monday, February 12, 2001

LOS ANGELES -- Hannibal Lecter made mincemeat of the competition -- and the record book.

The grisly ''Hannibal,'' sequel to ''The Silence of the Lambs,'' debuted with a colossal $58 million in its first three days. It grossed more than the next 15 movies combined, according to industry estimates Sunday, and easily beat the $34.7 million record for a February opening set by ''Scream 3'' last year.

Only two other movies, ''The Lost World: Jurassic Park'' and ''Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace,'' grossed more in their first three-day weekends. ''Hannibal'' also had the best opening ever for an R-rated movie, topping the $42.3 million debut of ''Scary Movie'' last summer.